Americans To State Attorneys General Sue to Stop Obamacare

Seven minutes after Barack Obama signed the Senate Health Care bill into law, Attorneys general from 13 states sued the federal government claiming the bill was unconstitutional.

“The Constitution nowhere authorizes the United States to mandate, either directly or under threat of penalty, that all citizens and legal residents have qualifying health care coverage,” the lawsuit says.

According to the Seattle Times, Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum is taking the lead and is joined by attorneys general from South Carolina, Nebraska, Texas, Michigan, Utah, Pennsylvania, Alabama, South Dakota, Idaho, Washington, Colorado and Louisiana. All are Republicans except James “Buddy” Caldwell of Louisiana, who is a Democrat.Some states are considering separate lawsuits and still others may join the multistate suit.

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McCollum, who is running for governor, has pushed the lawsuit for several weeks, asking other GOP attorneys general to join him. He says the federal government cannot constitutionally require individuals to obtain health coverage. He is also arguing the bill will cause “substantial harm and financial burden” to the states.

The latest Rasmussen report shows that this action is inline with public opinion, 49% of American Voters want their state governments to sue the federal government to stop the mandate that everyone must buy health insurance, 37% disagree and 14% have no opinion.

Both Republicans (72%) and independents (58%) support the suits. Not surprisingly almost two-thirds of Democrats (65%) disagree.

The gap over suing the federal government is even wider between Mainstream Americans and the Political Class. Sixty-two percent (62%) of Mainstream voters think state lawsuits challenging the federal requirement are a good idea. Seventy-nine percent (79%) of the Political Class disagree.

Most voters (53%) oppose a provision in the new health care law that requires every American to buy or obtain health insurance. Just 42% favor it. These findings include 42% who are Strongly Opposed and 25% who Strongly in Favor.

Fifty-one percent (51%) of voters say individual states should have the right to opt out of the entire health care plan, roughly unchanged from just before the House vote. Thirty-four percent (34%) say states should not have the power to opt out, but 16% more are not sure.

Fifty percent (50%) also believe states should have the right to opt out of portions of the plan they disagree with. Thirty-three percent (33%) are opposed to even this limited opting-out. Seventeen percent (17%) aren’t sure.

Clearly American Voters have a view of state’s rights that more closely matches our founding fathers.

The true theory of our Constitution is surely the wisest and best, that the States are independent as to everything within themselves, and united as to everything respecting foreign affairs. Let the General Government be reduced to foreign concerns only, and let our affairs be disentangled from those of all other nations, except as to commerce, which the merchants will manage the better, the more they are left free to manage for themselves, and our General Government may be reduced to a very simple organization, and a very inexpensive one; a few plain duties to be performed by a few servants.”-Thomas Jefferson 1800

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